I also see a lot of people who simply are not good enough to compete in this overcrowded jewelry business. They do not give enough time to themselves to learn both the skills of making jewelry and of marketing their business. Making loops or stringing beads is definitely NOT being a jewelry designer. It’s much more than that.

Commitment is another problem I see on beginners. They think the can make a living out of making jewelry working 4 or 5 hours a day- I work 12 to 14, no holidays, no weekends! If there is something you like more than your jewelry business, then you should be doing that! I breath my business, eat my business, sleep my business…I’m completely focused and committed. People make one necklace a week, post on their blogs each two weeks, and then they write to me moaning that they don’t sell, asking “what can I do?” – my only answer, always, is WORK MORE!

And of course, being too trendy is a big problem! The “etsy style” will pass and all that crafters won’t know how to do other things when we don’t see more vintage finds and slide pendants – when you have 1.000 vintage pendants to choose from, it looses uniqueness and then it loses value as a jewel. You must know very well people just LOVE that their jewels are exclusive!

And motivation? what motivation? I would make jewelry even if I was a millionaire! When people say they have lost motivation, either they did not work hard enough or they don’t love making jewelry enough. Picasso said “inspiration exists, but it has to find you working”. I won’t say more!

There is something I would like to say about Etsy: I think it is completely overrated and, as Ebay did, the trend will pass with time. I have my own shop at Ecrater (www.ecrater.com), which is COMPLETELY free. No posting fees, no transaction fees, no monthly fees, nothing. They are also integrated with Paypal. When I was looking for a server to host my online shop, I found many places like Ecrater, I mean free places, just as professional as Etsy can be. As you say, you have to promote your own shop: then why paying money just for having your stuff displayed?

I’d like to point also on what you say about “For some artists, most or all of their Etsy customers are other Etsy sellers” – I think this is a very negative attitude and surely not the right way to build a succesful business. I’ve seen that not only on Etsy, but also on Flickr and many other sharing sites. If you spend all day on the computer praising this and that person and get into a “crafter guetto” you will make sales – that may be true, but how long can that last? How much jewelry can you sell to other jewelry makers? Really, I don’t have the time to compliment everyone I find… because I work all day!!!

I don’t want to make this too long but I want to say that both Etsy forums and Etsy administrators lack of professionalism. I’ve never seen anything like that on the Ecrater sellers forum, where sellers are helpful, polite and professional and administrators answer your questions the day you post them, something that I have proved doesnt happen on Etsy! I’m sure there is no bad intention from Etsy admins but maybe this is too big and has grown too fast for them to handle it! Again, we go back to overrating and trends. In a few years, another indie business host will come up and crafters will move to it as sheeps. In the end, jewelry is fasion, and fashion is trends. Is my opinion that if you want to stay on Internet for a long time we should avoid trends and go for alternatives.

One last note: I will be adding your blog to my blogroll right now! Good luck in Blogland my friend !!!